Monday, April 11, 2011

The title here is a little misleading as at this stage I did more pondering than planning. Pondering the direction I wanted to go with this thing. I didn't want a carbon copy of Jeff's cabinet . It was a great starting point to build on, I wanted to improve on the original concept and add my own personal touch.

I painted my side panels a metallic blue sanding between coats for a smooth finish. I plan on adding some custom graphics later, and probably seal the whole thing with a clear lacquer.

I used a slot cutting bit in my router, to cut the grooves in the edges of the side panels. Now they are ready to accept the T-molding which I purchased from the appropriately named T-Molding.com

This place is great, they seem to have the best prices, and they will even send you free samples so you can try before you buy.

I decided to go with the blue t-molding
delivered right to my doorstep!

As I started assembling the parts I had previously cut, I realized this thing was going to be quite massive, and being made primarily from MDF it was also going to weigh a ton. I wanted to be able to disassemble it for easier transporting, and not have to worry about squeezing it through doorways. I assembled the floor, front, and rear panels so that they could detach from the side panels. Now you can break the cabinet down if need be. this will be a key design feature as I move forward with the rest of the project, and I'm starting to envision what I need to do to accomplish this.

When complete all these titles and many more will be housed in one arcade style cabinet for authentic game play , and will make a great addition to the game room/man cave which at present contains only two pinball machines, a broken down foosball table, and not much else.

I had once considered purchasing an arcade legends or someone else's mame creation off of craigslist, but what fun would that be. Where was the challenge? The sense of pride and accomplishment?

Well folks, I'm hoping to find that here, and welcome you to share in my experience. Wish me luck!